Aruna Suresh, Senior Faculty & Yoga Therapist, KYM
Fitness and well-being is an industry in the current day scenario, with an entire gallery of dance/ fitness/yoga studios and fully equipped gymnasiums to choose from. Each of these has its own prescribed diet and food supplement program, weight loss regimen, personal trainer etc; but there is always an undercurrent of trending fads that change every now and then. While this has done well in terms of a surge of fitness awareness and information about lifestyle diseases, it has also led to a surge of anxiety over personal health and well-being. Nestling in the middle of all these options is the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, with the motto, Heyaṁ Duḥkhamanāgataṁ, meaning, ‘avoid painful effects that are yet to come,’ taken from Patañjali’s Yogasūtra.
Yogasūtra forms the basis for KYM’s approach to Well-being. A philosophy that at the outset states that nothing in the past can be changed – accept it! Assess where you stand in the here and now and move forward positively!
The Yoga Mandiram established in 1976 was founded on the sound knowledge of Classical Texts and continues to be rooted in a traditional approach, undiluted by the demands of popular culture. The Mandiram conducts group fitness programs regularly, but largely encourages personalized practice. There is enough evidence of long term students from India and abroad to support the wisdom in this approach to Well-being.
There has been a long standing idea that fitness and well-being are confined to the physical aspect of the body, but this is rapidly changing to embrace physiological and psychological quotients too. The Classical Yoga texts have always had this deeper perspective and these texts are the solid foundation on which the KYM approach is based.
Śloka 1-30, Yoga Rahasya of Sage Nāthamuni
“kāladeśavayovṛttiśaktirvīkṣya vicāranāt
yogyaprayogaṁ kurvīta jñānī maunī jitātmavān”
What is needed in order to protect and maintain the well-being of an individual changes constantly based on the individual’s circumstances, which keep changing in his day to day life. So it is very important to have a fair idea of the starting point from where the individual begins. The practice is designed after a careful assessment of the body structure (which varies from person to person), the place of residence, the circumstances in terms of occupation, family and season, and existing infirmities in any. The desire of the individual and the facility of the mind to follow instructions too plays a very important role in the design of the practice. From this we understand that ‘a one size fits all approach’ cannot work in Yoga practice.
Yoga is a holistic process that addresses the body at multiple levels. There is an orderly sequential approach to the development of the practice, which is called a Krama. The sequence moves the practitioner towards a goal bringing about beneficial changes to the person. Depending on the need and age of the individual, the course plan integrates various tools such as Āsana, Prāṇāyāma, visualisation, chanting and meditative practices. Śrī T Krishnamacharya developed a system of varying practices based on the age of the individual. These are:
Sṛṣṭikrama – most suited to young children; more physical asana practices with long Vinyāsa sequences; goal of the practice is developing strength and flexibility of the growing body and to nurture attention and focus of the mind.
Sthitikrama – most suited to householders; with emphasis on pranayama to address stress arising from responsibilities at home and work place/
Antyakrama – most suited to elders; with emphasis on meditative practices towards engagement in spiritual pursuit.
Once set in motion, depending on the regularity and the faith of the individual in his practice, the person and personality starts altering and changing over time- some who are sensitive, might feel overwhelmed by the change and react by rejecting the change while others might perceive the changes as an exploration of their self. Still others respond well and develop an eagerness towards their practice. The patience of the student and creativity of the teacher are significant in the process. The teacher-student relationship is a unique aspect of the KYM approach. The teacher is aware of the strengths and limitations of the student and works around them to facilitate the movement towards the goal.
‘aprāptasya prāptihi yogaḥ, prāptasya rakṣaṇaṁ kṣemaṁ,’
…for, teacher understands that Yoga is both the movement toward a point, and the arrival at a point. In this journey the point of arrival becomes a new starting point for a journey towards the next point.